I love having pets. Sometimes I wonder why we got another cat though. I was happy when we just had 2 pets total. But then our beloved Cole-pie (as Leah loved to call her) passed away. We decided to give Leah some cheer by getting our 2nd cat, Pumpkin. I thought Smokey would love her. I think he was getting used to being by himself though. He didn't seem to like Pumpkin at first. He got over it though. He was a fairly independent cat. I think Pumpkin liked that--I believe she's the type of cat that needs to be around other cats. Well, then our beloved Smokey passed away. He was Chris's cat 100%. Chris drove him to the vet to be euthanized, but they didn't make it. Smokey passed away in the car with Chris. He knew he was with his human so it was the right time.
Well, we ended up getting Charlie about 3.5 years ago. He's a chocolate lab. He's a chunky chocolate lab. But he's still cute. He's actually laying at my feet right now keeping them nice & toasty. So I guess I'm glad he's kind of chunky. Anyway, Leah loves & adores Charlie. I'm glad we have him. Charlie feels like her pet. As she's getting older, she seems to be taking more care of him. She even helps feed him & walk him & lets him out. (I guess a chore chart is good then!) For awhile, I didn't think Charlie was going to make it in our house. Chris absolutely despised him. He didn't want a dog. But I didn't grow up with dogs or any pets, & I am of the mindset now that a home/family isn't a home/family without a pet (namely a dog). I think we'll always have a dog. I hope so...
So how much does Leah love Charlie? She suggested that we take him on a family vacation. A long drive is really out of the question. So we started looking at cabins at Hocking Hills a few months ago. Lo & behold, they accept dogs! We found a cabin available during spring break & decided we'd take Charlie with us. He had an exceptional time! He was able to walk around & take long walks in the woods with us. We tried out Charlie's new harness & leash--it worked like a charm. Leah was beyond thrilled that we were able to take Charlie. Yay!
Leah considers Charlie a large part of our family. This is good. As I mentioned, she's starting to take care of him more. And she even talked Chris into getting Charlie a birthday treat today. It's his birthday! Charlie is 4 today. Who knows how much that is in dog years... Chris bought him a little birthday "cake" from the pet bakery. Yes, Charlie absolutely loved it & finished it in about 2 minutes (after I cut it into pieces). So maybe Chris really does like Charlie?? All that complaining about not wanting a dog--was it really serious?? After last night, I'm not so sure. See, Charlie had a seizure last night. It wasn't the first time. But last night, his seizure lasted several minutes. It was terrible to watch him like that. It was even more terrible to watch Leah watching him. She was crying & petting him. I hope he realized that Leah was there to comfort him. It's super scary watching a pet have a seizure. When it looked like he was through it, we took him downstairs & let him out. Chris let him back in & wondered how Charlie was really doing. Then Leah came downstairs & started calling for Charlie. Chris said his tail instantly started wagging & he ran over to Leah to greet her like nothing had ever happened. Maybe this melted Chris's heart? I hope so. This morning, Chris told me (something along these lines) that he felt feel bad seeing Charlie have a seizure. It does me, too.
So I guess Charlie is growing on all of us. He really is part of our family.
Happy Birthday, Charlie!!
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